Edshugeo The GodMoor

NBC has ended their deal with Apple, no longer allowing downloads of their programs from iTunes.
Apparently NBC wants the service to charge $4.99 an episode rather than $1.99.
Also, they seem to think that the DRM on iTunes downloads aren't strong enough.

"Among its aims are to stop pirated material from being uploaded to iPods."

Now, the only NBC programs on iPods will be pirated ones. Idiots!
I still think $1.99 is too much, but it doesn't matter. I don't have an iPod, nor do I plan on getting one. The DRM crap won't work on my PSP, and that's fine by me.

The program I use to convert downloaded (not from iTunes) and dvds for viewing on my PSP also converts them to the iPod, XviD4PSP. And it's a free program. So if you want to take the latest episode of Heroes to work with you, it'll show up on usenet (look it up if you don't know) and the other usual places about a day later. When the accountants explain to the knuckleheads the damage being done, you'll soon be able to go back to your overpriced iTunes downloads... if you still want to.

Update: You might not want to. I haven't tried this yet, but it's supposedly easy, using RSS and torrents. I think there are risks using torrents that aren't there with usenet, but usenet is complicated to explain (TimDoc can help) and finding exactly what you want there, isn't always easy. Read - TV Torrents: When 'piracy' is easier than legal purchase.
Thanks James Hudnall.

Labels: bittorrent, bullshit, downloads, funny-ass shit, online retailers, ripoffs, solutions?

Recently, some rare-ish (never before released on CD) 80's b-sides and extended versions from Prince were made available from 7digital (and iTunes?) in Europe*. Fans are expressing some disappointment that these tracks are badly encoded vinyl rips complete with audible scratches, pops and surface noise. Read here to see what one fan had to go through to get some of his money back.

Hold on to those bootlegs. They won't be obsolete for a long while.

*these may not be available in the U.S.

7 Digital sells DRM'd wma files, by the way.

Labels: bullshit, downloads, music business, Prince, ripoffs

The BBC reports that the last episode of the Hamas "Mickey Mouse" show has their terrorist mascot beaten to death by an Israeli agent.

It's a children's show. I guess they wanted to end with a good triumphs over evil message. Maybe not, but all's well that ends well, or something.

Hope the beating shows up on YouTube.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, Islam, ripoffs, terrorism, tv, World Affairs

So, EMI will be the first label able to release music on iTunes without DRM ankle bracelets. This unlocks the ability to play songs on portable music players that aren't iPods and possibly generate more revenue for both the iTunes store and for EMI (and, hopefully, it's artists). Steve Jobs himself endorsed the idea a little while back, but it was EMI who apparently posed the scenario to Apple to begin with (not counting the music fans, of course).

I think it's a very good first step. Now the only reason for me not to buy songs on iTunes is the price. Ninety-nine cents is still too much for an MP3 (MP4 in this case), a buck-twenty-nine, way too much (even at higher bitrates), and ten bucks (9.99) for an album's worth of compressed music (same for AACs with or without ankle bracelets) can be okay to bad depending on quantity and length (and quality, too). I'm not sure all albums are $9.99. Took a quick glance, before writing this.

Me, I'd like to see more major labels on eMusic. But, hey. You can't have everything. Actually, you can, and DRM hasn't stopped that, has it?

Labels: downloads, music business, online retailers, ripoffs, solutions?

I love dark chocolate. I love peppermint Altoids. Putting the two together seems long overdue, but somehow this doesn't really work for me. The chocolate seems fine. The Altoids, not so much. Could be because they're using the weaker, slightly fake Altoids those bastards tried rolling out last year or so. Oil of peppermint shows up in the ingredients in brackets next to "Natural Flavors". So the chocolate kinda steals the show. For half the price of a regular Altoids tin, this would be an okay candy. At more than twice the price*, I'd rather have Junior Mints.


*A friend bought me a tin of these the other day at Borders book store- prices at normal stores aren't likely that high, I hope.

Labels: Altoids, candy, peppermints, ripoffs

Prince's new song is up at 3121.com. It's called Guitar and it's a buck ninety-nine for a tune slightly over three minutes. I've made it clear that iTunes is too expensive at ninety-nine cents (cant use iTunes songs on my PSP anyway). There's no fuckin' way I'm payin' two dollars on an mp3, not even one by Prince. So I'll have to wait 'till I can "find" it. If it's on a new CD, I'll end up buying it, anyway. Sometimes, that man is not very bright.


Feb 4th, 2007 - Having heard the song a few times now, I rather like it. It's not great, but even if it was, I wouldn't pay two bucks for it. Looking forward to this evening's halftime show.

Labels: bullshit, downloads, music, online retailers, Prince, ripoffs

Great prices can be found on Nerds.net on a variety of items, but if you're in a hurry to get your stuff, I'd advise you steer clear of them. If you need a place for your money to hang out for a while, before (hopefully) being returned to you, these may be your kinda nerds.

My 20" RCA was new when Miami Vice was still on the air. It had seen better days, and I had been meaning to replace it for years.

My interest in getting a new TV perked up over the hype for the upcoming PS3, which was recently released (sorta). My enthusiasm for Sony's new gaming platform went from "No fucking way am I paying 600 bucks for that" to "hmmm, I dunno."

Considering the PS3 and the XBox 360 (slightly cheaper and available) got me thinking about HDTV. Prices had been coming down on LCD and Plasma screens and even the smaller models were looking attractive, so I decided I was gonna get one by years end.

At first I thought a 27" would be enough of an upgrade, but though the screen would be wider, it wouldn't be taller than the old 20". I think it would be shorter in height. So 30-32" made more sense to me. I considered a model from WalMart, but I'm a Teamster. I wouldn't like their labor practices even if I wasn't. Spending $600 there wasn't gonna happen for me, though I've bought 2-tin packs of Altoids for 3 bucks over there as well as other minor purchases. I did actually go there and check out a couple of models and almost rethought my hesitation over the 27" size. A Sanyo looked pretty good at that size. Better than the 32" next to it. I think it was the Ilo, but I don't remember for sure.

I soon came across this guy at Target. The reviews were mostly decent and the price wasn't bad, but I decided to check Pricegrabber.com to see if I could do better. The site lead me to nerds.net which had the LCD monitor at $518.99 at the time. The merchant reviews were mostly positive (4 1/2 out of 5 stars) though there were few negative reports. I bit the bullet and placed my order on a Sunday. I paid for overnight shipping so that I could get it that Tuesday and make sure I was home to get it. Nerds.net also charge a fee to expedite the processing of the order which I also paid. Something like $3.75. So on Monday, I get a call. My phone # was different from what was on file at the credit card company and the person on the other line needed confirmation. This was fine. it showed they were taking some effort to avoid fraud and whatnot. I also got a name and a phone extension, just in case I needed to contact somebody. I asked the guy would my order ship out that day, and he said yes.

That's not the way it worked out, though. I never got the order, because it never shipped. Not that I could tell at the time as it seems they don't like to give tracking numbers. I emailed them on Tuesday evening, saying they should at least refund the overnite shipping charge as it obviously hadn't been shipped overnight. Got a response the next day saying it would be looked into. Thursday was Thanksgiving and phone calls on Friday indicated they were closed for the holiday. I sent an email demanding a complete refund Friday night. Had it even shipped Wednesday via overnight shipping, it would've come Friday, but no. The email wouldn't have been read until Monday, but I couldn't wait till then to vent. I didn't want to log the experience here until I knew for sure what was going on.

On Monday, the 27th of November, a week after my order should have been processed, I placed a call to my contact to discuss cancelling my order. He wanted to find out what happened to it first. The "tracking system" had been down. I said fine, but I would be calling back once an hour, until I got an answer. I skipped an hour after the second call cuz I was washing my dreads. On the third, I was told they could ship my TV out that day. I said no. At that point I just wanted my money back and he said fine. No problem. I got an email later that day apologising for my inconvenience and now saying that they were out of stock on the item in question. Whether or not this was bullshit didn't concern me as the email also stated I would be getting my money back and that it would post to my account in 3-5 business days.

Guess what? On Monday December 4th, two weeks after I'd placed my order with nerds.net, they still had my money. I let the business day pass before sending yet another email. I decided to wait till morning to make another phone call. When I did, the guy (the same guy I always talk to over there) says they issued the credit yesterday (Monday). "Yesterday?" "Weren't you supposed to do this last week?" I wasn't happy, but I remained patient while quietly fantasizing about how I was gonna wage war on these assholes.

On Wednesday the 6th, Nerds.net finally gave me my money back. By the time this occurred, I'd already received my new 37" LCD HDTV from an Amazon.com vendor, Worldwide Distributors and was enjoying the hell out of it.

While I was wrestling with nerds.net to get my money back, I was looking at alternatives. I knew the 32" I wanted was available at Target and Amazon, but I'd now decided I wanted to go even bigger. This guy was 37" and included the NTSC/HDTV tuner that the model I'd previously ordered lacked. I don't think I actually need the tuner, but whatever.

I didn't like that "expedited shipping" doesn't necessarily mean next day or even second or third day (at least they tell you that), but I went with it anyway and got it in two business days. No tracking number here, either. Can't say I'm happy about that, but the delivery went well and the product is great.

One good thing about nerds.net is that they give you time to reconsider your purchase with them.

Labels: bullshit, HDTV, online retailers, ripoffs, tv

The story starts here and ends with Sony-BMG backing down somewhat, but as far as I know the crap they've already infected is still in the market place. The EFF.org article identifies some albums, and tells you how to keep your computer safe (aside from not buying crappy Sony CDs). The second link, from the Financial Times (found via JamesHudnall.com) contains this lovely bit of info hinted at in the first:

On Friday, Sony BMG, which faces a number of lawsuits in the US related to the use of the software, acknowledged for the first time that it could render PC users vulnerable to attack.

“We are aware that a computer virus is circulating that may affect computers with XCP content protection software,” the company said, adding that the software has been included on a limited number of Sony BMG titles, but emphasising, “This potential problem has no effect on the use of these discs in conventional, non-computer-based, CD and DVD players.”

Pricks.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Fucking Idiots, music business, ripoffs